Gisborne first to roll out fluid power certificate

Gisborne Hydraulic Services technician Mohammed Farook is the first person in the country to enrol in the New Zealand Certificate in Fluid Power Engineering Level 3 programme. He is pictured with Gisborne Hydraulic Services owner/director Tasj Paulson, who was instrumental in developing this qualification, and Ben Julian, the national manager of Apprentice Training New Zealand, which is running the programme. Picture by Liam Clayton

A buzz of excitement is flowing through the fluid power industry with the introduction of a New Zealand Qualifications Authority-approved training programme — the first of its kind in the hydraulics and pneumatic industry.

The New Zealand Certificate in Fluid Power Engineering Level 3 programme gets under way on February 1 with Gisborne first to roll it out and take enrolments ahead of the rest of the country.

Gisborne Hydraulic Services owner/director Tasj Paulson  has been instrumental in bringing what is seen as a much-needed qualification to the fluid power industry.

Ms Paulson saw there was little recognition for the specialised skill set required to be a hydraulic or pneumatic technician and set about to change that.

A hui was organised and facilitated by Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council in Auckland in  August 2022 to get the conversation started among industry leaders.

Twenty people attended. All were competitors in the industry but with the common interest of wanting to promote, recognise and enhance the specialised skills required to become a fluid power technician.

Following that meeting, the New Zealand Fluid Power Association was formed with Tasj — the sole woman representative of the industry — the chair.

“The initial meeting was to discuss what we would like to see in the form of a qualification and what that would look like,” she said.

“As competitors in the industry we left our business hats at the door and put our industry hats on with the same shared goal of a recognised qualification for hydraulic technicians, making it viable and attractive for more people to enter the industry.

“Once we established the association, we were able to begin conversations with training providers.”

The association worked closely with Hanga-Aro-Rau in manufacturing, engineering and logistics to develop a qualification designed to provide the fluid power industry with people with essential knowledge, health and safety understanding and practical skills to work as technicians.

Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) took the initiative to run the innovative programme.

“Internal training, learning on the job and knowledge handed down has been the norm for the industry for many years and the qualification will bring formal recognition in the specialised area,” ATNZ national manager Ben Julian said.

“We were the only provider to pick this up and we did it with due diligence. There are a number of candidates nationwide waiting to go and we are really excited about this.

“It’s about keeping up with technology and changing mindsets to take that passion Tasj has shown for the industry and to make a training programme happen.”

Mohammed Farook is the first person in the country to enrol in the apprentice style programme.

With the prerequisite to be already working within the fluid power industry, Mohammed began his journey with an after-school position at Gisborne Hydraulic Services and has completed three years as a full-time hydraulic technician.

“I came here not knowing what hydraulics was,” he said. “I watched the guys and learned from them. It’s pretty cool to have an actual qualification to work towards now.  It’s really awesome to get to this position.”

GHS workshop manager Blake Thornton has also enrolled.

GHS and ATNZ will actively promote the NZ Certificate in Fluid Power Engineering to the wider community as a valid and industry-recognised option for a career choice.

It is anticipated that a Level 4 and Level 5 qualification will be offered as part of ongoing training.